Pure Bluegrass at 11th annual Milan Bluegrass Festival

Pure bluegrass

by Barbara Krolak , last modified July 30. 2008 5:02PM

There's a certain purity about it."

That's how Doyle Lawson describes bluegrass music, and he ought to know.

Besides being a "picker" since he was a teenager, the 64-year-old Tennessean and his Quicksilver Band have won a mandolin case full of bluegrass awards.

The group is one of the headliners at next weekend's 11th annual Milan Bluegrass Festival, and even though the band could be termed a headliner, it's in rare company.

Nearly every act that will take the stage has won or been nominated for top bluegrass awards: Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, The Grascals, IIIrd Tyme Out, the Lewis Family, Lonesome River Band, the list goes on.

Bluegrass music has been around for a good many years, but it's seeing a resurgence in recent times. Many attribute it to the bluegrass score from George Clooney's 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou."

Mr. Lawson thinks it's more than that.

"The key reason is because of the emotion and delivery in the songs. There's a certain purity about it and people are looking for something to grab a hold of. It gives a feeling of calmness and serenity and hope. We're living in turbulent times, what with the economy the way it is, the war the way it is; when it's all combined, people are looking for comfort somewhere," he told The Evening News in a recent telephone interview.

Bluegrass music is one of the places they find it.

Right now, Mr. Lawson's riding the top of the wave with his new bluegrass gospel CD, "Help Is on the Way." The single by the same name is climbing on the southern gospel charts.

Mr. Lawson's humble about it, though: "I just record the songs."

As for all his accolades, he says he's been blessed and tries not to let it go to his head.

"I don't let it get in the way of how I do business. … Awards are a way of saying thank you for doing a good job. It's my job to keep it up," he said.

They've said thank you plenty of times. The International Bluegrass Music Association has named Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Vocal Group of the Year for seven years running. It's also won the IBMA's Gospel Performance of the Year for the past three years.

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